Rail-shim.



Patented May 6, 1913.

H. 0. WOODBRIDGE.

RAIL SHIM.

APPLIQATION FILED MAR.5, 1913.

HOWARD C. WOODBRIDGE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TOMICHAEL G. DICINERNEY AND ONE-THIRD TO JOHN P. REYNOLDS, OF ROCHESTER.

NEW YORK.

RAIL-SHIM.

Application filed March 5, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD C. \Voon- BRIDGE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRail-Shims, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to shims employed to regulate the height ofrailroad-rails by insertion between the rails and the ties, or otherdevices, upon which they rest.

The object of the invention is to produce a metallic shim adaptedparticularly for use beneath a rail which is supported upon tie-plates.

A tie-plate, as usually constructed, is provided with a flange, on itsupper surface, located in position to engage the outer edge of the baseof the rail, so as to hold the rail securely against lateral movement.In my improved shim I employ a flange or abutment, upon the uppersurface, which is adapted to engage the rail in the same manner as theflange of the tie-plate, and in order that the shim itself may be heldagainst lateral movement, and also to permit the shim to be laid flatupon the tieplate, I provide the lower surface of the shim with ashoulder lying directly beneath the rail-engaging surface of itsabutment, and adapted to engage the flangeon the tie-plate, the shimbeing also recessed or cut away where necessary to avoid the flange onthe rail-plate. In this manner I produce a shim which may be readilyintroduced between the rail and the tie-plate, and which will hold therail with the same security as before, and in exactly the same lateralposition, but at a height variable according to the thickness of theshim employed.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure l is an end-elevation of a shimembodying the present invention, together with a railroad-rail supportedthereon, and the tieplate, the tie, and the spikes associated therewith,the rail being shown in cross-section; Fig. 2 is a similar view, showinga shim embodying the invention in a modified form; and Fig. 3 is asection on the line 33 in Fig. 2, looking from left to right in thelatter figure.

The drawings illustrate a T-rail 5, and a tie-plate 6, of ordinary form;the tie-plate resting upon the usual tie 7. The rail and Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1913.

Serial No. 752,192.

the tie-plate are held upon the tie by spikes 8, which pass throughopenings in the tieplate, in the usual manner, and clasp the edges ofthe base of the rail.

The shim embodying the present invention, as illustrated in Fig. 1, hasa body 9 with parallel upper and lower bearing-surfaces, the body beingrecessed at intermediate points on the bottom to save unnecessarymaterial. This shim rests upon the tieplate, and the rail rests upon theupper surface of the shim, the parts being held together by the spikes8. The shim, as illustrated in Fig. 1, is of the same length and widthas the tie-plate, and is provided with spike-receiving perforationsregistering with those of the tieplate. The tie-plate is provided withthe usual flange 10, and the lower surface of the shim is recessed toreceive this flange, and to provide a shoulder which bears against thevertical left-hand surface of the flange. The upper surface of the shimis provided with a corresponding flange 11, of which the left-handsurface lies in the same vertical plane as the corresponding surface ofthe flange 10. Accordingly, the rail, by engagement with the flange 11,is held against lateral movement in the same manner as it is normallyheld by the flange of the tie-plate, and in the same transverseposition, while at the same time the flange 10 forms no impediment tothe introduction of the shim beneath the rail.

As shims are commonly employed to elevate the rail to various degrees, Ipropose to provide shims of various thicknesses, and within a certainminimum thickness these shims may all be substantially similar inconstruction to that shown in Fig. 1, diifering from each other only inthe distance between their upper and lower surfaces. Where acomparatively thin shim is necessary, however, the construction must beslightly modified by reason of the fact that the recess which receivesthe flange 10 of the rail-plate approaches closely to the upper surfaceof the shim, so as to leave little or no intervening material at thepoint 13. In such a case the shim is formed as shown in Figs. 2 and 3,being made slightly longer than the tie-plate. In this case the recessin the bottom of the shim does not extend throughout the length of theshim, but terminates at the ends of the flange 10. Accordingly, the shimhas solid or unrecessed portions 14 at its ends, Which support theflange l1 regardless of the amount of material at the part 13.

I claim 1. A rail-shim adapted to be introduced between a tie-plate andthe base of a rail, the shim having, on its lower surface, a shoulderadapted to abut against the flange of the tie-plate, and, on its uppersurface, a projection with a rail-engaging surface Which lies in thesame vertical plane as said shoulder.

2. A rail-shim adapted to be introduced between a tie-plate and the baseof a rail, lay

.its upper surface, an abutment having a rail-engaging surface which hes1n the same 20 vertical plane as the inner surface of the flange.

HOWVARD C. WVOODBRIDGE. WVit-nesses FARNUM F. DORsEY, D. GURNEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

